Deschutes Land Trust

Whychus Canyon Preserve: Forestry and Trails Update

Sarah Mowry — 2012-05-08T19:15:32Z

Whychus Canyon Preserve will soon be a hub of activity. The Land Trust just signed an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to begin work on a new trailhead for the Preserve. The BLM owns much of the adjacent land around the Preserve and has kindly agreed to allow a parking lot, kiosk and trails to be built on their property at the T intersection of Goodrich Road and Goodrich Lane. We'll be designing and building these things throughout the late spring/early summer and hope to provide much better access for the community very soon!

Forest restoration work at Whychus Canyon will also begin in mid-May. The Land Trust will be thinning juniper to benefit the few remaining stands of ponderosa pine and aspen on the Preserve. Chainsaws will be busy for 3-4 weeks (into early June) and then we'll come back and burn slash piles in the fall.

We will also be thinning juniper along Whychus Creek, but instead of piling the cut trees we plan to leave the entire cut juniper on the ground. These trees will be an important part of the projected 2014 Whychus Creek restoration that will occur at the Preserve. The whole trees will be used as they were at Camp Polk Meadow for floodplain roughness and in the stream as downed woody debris.

To learn more about these projects, join stewardship director Amanda Egertson for a behind-the-scenes tour on May 23!

Ashley Burry-Trice joins the Land Trust

Sarah Mowry — 2012-05-08T19:15:00Z

Ashley Burry-Trice joined the Land Trust as our new land steward May 1st. She will be helping manage and care for our protected lands. Ashley most recently moved from Missoula, Montana where she completed her masters with a focus on watershed conservation and restoration. You may recognize Ashley from her work several years ago with Wolftree in Sisters. Ashley grew up in Oregon and is an avid trail runner who also enjoys skiing, reading and cooking. Welcome Ashley!

Help us chart the future

Sarah Mowry — 2012-05-08T18:00:00Z

The Deschutes Land Trust is at a pivotal point in our 16 year history. This spring, two concurrent opinion gathering processes will shape and guide the next chapter of the Land Trust’s work in Central Oregon and beyond.

First, noted Oregon philanthropist John Gray has begun a process called the “Oregon Land Trust Grant Program and Advancement Initiative.” The goal of this initiative is to further the pace and effectiveness of private land conservation in Oregon. Gray, best known in the region for his role in the development of the Sunriver community, has partnered with the Land Trust Alliance and the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts to create a multi-phase assessment process, which will be followed by an unprecedented financial commitment to private land conservation in our state. The initiative is a wonderful opportunity for the Land Trust to pause and assess how we’re meeting the conservation needs of our region, and to engage our many partners in the conversation.

Second, the Land Trust is conducting its own assessment of how we’re meeting our community’s conservation needs. To participate, take our survey and answer some brief questions related to land conservation, access to our Preserves, and what you’d like to see from us in the coming years. It will be the first survey we’ve undertaken since 2006, so we are looking forward to seeing what you have to say.

We’re anxious to share both the results of the Gray/Land Trust Alliance assessment and our membership survey later this year. Stay tuned!

Exploring new ground at Whychus Canyon Preserve

Deb Quinlan — 2012-05-03T18:55:00Z

Whychus Canyon Preserve is a new patch of Central Oregon land to discover. The Deschutes Land Trust purchased the canyon, dedicating 450 acres of high desert to public use in 2010.

Huge, gnarled old-growth juniper line the trail, twisted and time-worn. Butterflies cling to the tree limbs, their folded wings camouflaged to look like leaves. Recent rains have helped tiny wildflowers, white and three-leaved like tiny trilliums, struggle up and out of the dust.

The trail system features several loop options, and one four-mile loop curls to a scenic viewpoint with the Three Sisters on display, framed by the canyon. Far below, Whychus Creek can barely be heard. Farther along, the rocky trail switches back down the canyon wall to the creek.

As I reached the creek, I startled two jackrabbits and they bounded quickly away. I raised my camera, but the rabbits were gone in a flash. These were no little Peter Cottontails, but rather large beasts, sandy brown and perfect for their habitat, speeding off into the brush.

Directions to Whychus Canyon Preserve

OWEB Listening Session

Sarah Mowry — 2012-04-26T22:32:52Z

The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board is hosting two listening sessions in Bend on May 9th! They want to learn what you think their priorities should be for the next several years. Please consider attending to let them know how important land conservation is to you!

Wednesday, May 9, 3-5 pm AND 6:30-8:30 pm
Bend Metro Parks and Rec. Riverbend Community Room, 799 SW Columbia St, Bend, 97702

Why should you attend? OWEB is a major funder of conservation and the Land Trust. In the past several years, they've helped us acquire the Pond Addition to Camp Polk Meadow and Whychus Canyon Preserve. They also helped us protect Rimrock Ranch and years ago the Metolius Preserve. We can't do our work without them. Please let them know the difference their funding has made to Central Oregon.